The Deepest Blue (Roadmap to Your Heart #2)

by Christina Lee

  “Huh?” he said, scratching his head. “Isn’t that a good thing? You didn’t want me to frighten him away?”

  “We were set to make more rattler jerky,” Grammy said and I watched Dean pale while my sister’s lips drew in a tight line. Guess she never told him all the ins and outs of our family business. Probably a good thing or he might not have agreed to come. “We don’t believe in gassing out these reptiles like other farms do.”

  “It’s a more humane way,” Cassie mumbled and the look of stunned silence on Dean’s face said it all. He didn’t believe in a lick of it.

  “We respect the animals in the wild,” Grammy said. “They live in their natural habitats and we mostly leave them be, unless it’s a matter of survival or livelihood.”

  “Save your breath Grammy, we’ve got nothing to hide,” I said, gripping the pole until my knuckles turned white. Dean’s eyes fixed on me like I was some kind of backcountry savage and I didn’t like it. Not one damn bit.

  “I believe you,” Dean said in a sharp voice. Oh, he was going to be a lively one. Usually the guys Cassie brought home were pansies. “You run a respectable business. One of the largest in this part of the state. At least that’s what Cassie said.”

  And then he awkwardly reached out to grasp her hand as if he only just remembered he was her date. “My degree is in biology. I look forward to hearing more about your industry.”

  I narrowly avoided rolling my eyes. Bet he’d rather chalk up the violations with the humane society. Except we ran a clean business. Something we took pride in.

  All at once I heard the faint rattle in my ear. The snake had emerged from his hole and positioned himself between the mouse and Dean. Shit. We needed to act fast.

  Dean had frozen in place, his mouth shaped in a perfect circle.

  “Don’t move,” Cassie mumbled.

  “I have half a mind to leave you hanging there, see where your fancy degree gets you,” I said.

  “I never…that wouldn’t be cool,” Dean ground out, his voice shaking.

  “He wouldn’t dare.” Cassie threw me a death glare and I knew I had crossed the line.

  I stepped to the side and nudged Dean out of the way. He lost his footing and ended up in the dirt. In one swift lunge I captured the snake’s head in my noose. His body swung wildly in circles attempting to break free.

  “Fuck,” Dean said from ground level. Then he skittered back crab-like reminding me of gym class exercises.

  Grammy bashed the rattler to the ground with her rock right before whipping out her knife and chopping off his head.

  “Bag ‘im up, Callum.” She threw a smug look at Dean before turning toward the house. “Cassie, come have a nice chat with your grandmother. Callum will steer your guest back home.”

  Cassie bit her lip and threw a glance at Dean while I scooped the snake carcass into a sack. “You okay if I walk back with my Grammy?”

  Dean nodded even though it looked like he wanted to crawl on her back like a monkey and never let go. He watched as they walked away, Grammy still gripping the knife in her hand. But not before Cassie glowered at me in warning to play nice.

  “Just great,” I heard Dean mutter as he picked himself up and dusted off his jeans. My eyes couldn’t resist following the motion of his fingers over his lean hips. I’d always liked my guys fit and angular. Not that I had more than half a dozen to speak of over the years.

  I looked down at those clean sneakers he wore with those white athletic socks. “Here, I’ll teach you a trick if you’re going to wander around out here.”

  Dean’s head snapped up in surprise. He probably figured I was just fucking around with him.

  “Clap your hands as you’re walking,” I said demonstrating for him. I used my whole palm as I smacked my hands together. “That usually scares rattlers back into their caves.”

  “Thanks,” Dean said and shrugged. “I’ll only be here for a few days before I have to get back to my job.”

  “Maybe so, but you can use it anywhere in the southern states—Georgia is teeming with Timber rattlers.”

  “Uh, true.” The way he said it, I got the impression that he never stepped foot out of his air-conditioned office. Maybe he also worked out in some cushy gym given his solid thigh muscles in all that tight denim.

  I trudged past the steep incline with purple and yellow wildflowers scattered along the crest.

  “These are Cassie’s favorite.” I motioned over my shoulder. “You might want to pick some for her. Just a suggestion.”

  He walked a few steps up the rise and bent down to group a bunch in his hand. The dude had better treat my sister right. He didn’t know who he was dealing with. I sure as hell never wanted Cassie to wind up with that knucklehead Jerry, but at least Jerry paid attention to what she liked.

  Dean looked at the flowers he’d gathered and his eyes softened around the edges. I wondered who or what he’d just been thinking about. Better have been Cassie.

  “Guess you’re pretty good with the romantic gestures,” he mumbled.

  I grunted. Little did he know, if I had somebody to show that side to, I could be all about romance. But that idea would never come to fruition and lately all I could think about was screwing, because it had been weeks. No one in my family even suspected I was gay. At least I didn’t think so, though I wondered about Billie sometimes.

  My father would probably have a coronary on the spot if I told him. But it was Grammy’s respect that I was most worried about losing. After my mother passed, her love was the closest I felt to that similar kind of affection and acceptance. I had a feeling she’d understand, but I was terrified to ever let it slip and be mistaken.

  “I’m just showing you the country way of doing things,” I said. “In case Cassie never told you much else about us or how we live.”

  “I’ve seen pictures of you,” Dean said, trailing behind me.

  “Huh?” I asked, turning back to glance at him. I was helplessly drawn to his thick eyelashes and pouty lips. “On Cassie’s phone and your family’s website.”

  “Oh, right,” I said. “I thought we should establish a homepage and get with the twenty-first century. My brother, Braden, figured we should pose for it.”

  “You, um, look better in person,” he stammered as a line of heat climbed up his cheeks. “I mean, because…”

  He obviously wasn’t flirting with me, but he was definitely poking fun at me. Sure, we looked like the damn Dukes of Hazzard or something on our webpage, but that didn’t give him the right to amuse himself, not for his own benefit.

  “You’re not the first guy Cassie’s brought home thinking he’s got some superior education,” I said, gritting my teeth. “And you won’t be the last.”

  “That’s not at all what I…” His hand flew to his chest. He looked stricken. City boy needed to learn better manners. And quick. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

  Yeah, right. I stormed toward the house that was now in plain view and after another minute realized that he wasn’t even following me.

  I was sure I had overreacted, but damn it, how dare he show up here looking all hot and good enough to eat?

  3

  Dean

  What in the hell had just happened? We’d only arrived and I had already pissed off Cassie’s brother, Callum. But honestly, he was being an asshole. Just digging for something to be angry about and apparently I was his target.

  I found my way down the long trail to the main house, refusing to follow behind Callum, like he was some messiah leading me out of the desert. Though I was nervous about seeing another rattlesnake, I think he was more than likely just messing with me. It wasn’t like the property was teeming with them. If so, why would they have been so disappointed to have missed the opportunity with just the one?

  Cassie sat in the wooden swing on the large wraparound porch with her grandmother. She met my gaze just as I caught the tail end of Callum—and what a fine tail it was—as he went grumbling past her inside the house
.

  Her furrowed brow expressed an apology and I felt ridiculous that any of that had even happened. I gave her a small headshake, not wanting her to feel bad, and then handed her the bouquet of wildflowers.

  “These are my favorite. How did you…?” Her jaw dropped open in surprise. I heard more grumbling from inside the house, and her grandmother turned away as a smirk lined her lips. “Thank you.”

  Sinking down on the wooden steps below them, I caught my breath. I looked out at the property, finally able to appreciate it, without worrying about any wild critters or brooding brothers. It looked vast and green with towering pine trees that stretched for miles, like toy soldiers in formation, as they ate up the sky, hills, and valleys.

  “It would be great to go for a run,” I said, already missing my jogging and biking routes in the city. But here in the wide-open space with the wind at my back would feel glorious. “Are there more trails?”

  “There are,” Cassie said, eyeing me doubtfully. How bad could it be? Would I smack into a boar or gator? “You should probably take the week off.”

  My eyebrows darted upward. “Why? It would be perfect out here.”

  Grammy chuckled and sank back in the swing. “Well, it’s good to know you do more than study up there at that fancy university.”

  Just then the screen door slapped open and a lanky teenager with medium brown hair painstakingly made his way across the wooden slats carrying a tray of drinks, while a golden Labrador retriever closed in on his heels.

  “There you are, Billie,” Grammy said. “Offer our guest some of your sweet tea.”

  “Would you like some?” The kid, who was obviously Cassie’s younger brother if his eyes and nose had anything to say about it, looked a bit breathless and fragile. I almost stood up to help take off the load but had a feeling that would not be a good idea—to Billie or anybody else. That’s when I saw a silver medical bracelet dangling off of his wrist.

  If I squinted, I might’ve been able to read the writing that had been inscribed on it, but that would’ve been rude.

  I didn’t want to admit I had never in fact liked sweet tea. Therefore I took the glass gratefully, so that Billie could finally place the tray down on the side table.

  “This is refreshing, thank you,” I said, after sipping out of my glass. It was some of the best tea I’d ever tasted, actually. Not too strong or sugary, just right. “I’m Dean, by the way.”

  “I’m Billie,” he said, beaming, maybe because I complimented his batch of tea. Right then, I noticed something different about him that didn’t come across on the photos I’d seen on Cassie’s phone. Something in his eyes that told me he’d been through a lot and was probably an old soul. “Are you Cassie’s b…boyfriend?”

  I nearly choked on my tea. Thankfully Cassie saved me. “Billie, he’s…he’s my date to the wedding. That’s all for right now.”

  Cassie shot me a look that told me to keep my trap closed, so I simply nodded.

  “So tell me what you do, Dean,” Grammy said and I felt my face grow hot like I was on the witness stand or something.

  I heard some clanging from the kitchen and could just make out Callum busying himself with something, the likes of which I didn’t know. Hopefully he wasn’t skinning that rattler right at the damn table. Every now and then his gaze would swing to mine through the screen door. He was so damn good looking I couldn’t help but blush. He was as large as a mountain lion with a mane of chestnut hair to match. I felt scrawny in comparison.

  But I assumed that tough guy act back on the trail was Callum trying to figure out whether or not I was treating his sister right. I needed to get my shit together and show this family that I was worth something. Really, that Cassie was worth something to me. That wouldn’t be hard because I adored her.

  “I’m a research assistant at the university,” I said in Grammy’s direction. “We’re studying the structural and mechanistic basis of signaling in insect odorant receptors.”

  Grammy just stared at me and Cassie nodded her head in approval. There was a smirk from somewhere inside and I tightened my jaw.

  “Bugs have odor thingies?” Billie asked, his voice full of wonder.

  “Yep, they use them to mate or to ward off danger from predators,” I said, setting my tea down.

  “Whoa,” Billie said in awe.

  “Bet you guys have interesting creatures out here,” I said, hoping I didn’t just jinx myself and some killer bees were on their way from the trail to sting the shit out of me.

  What the hell was I going on about? I knew my insects and the only kind we didn’t see as regularly in the southeast would be fire ants, palmetto bugs, and maybe some black widow or brown recluse spiders.

  “Looks like you got yourself a smart one here, Cassie,” Grammy said and my eyes sprang to hers questioning whether or not she was making fun of me. But this time she had a genuine smile planted on her face and I released the breath I was holding.

  “I don’t hold a candle to Cassie,” I said, and her eyes softened. “She works for a professor, always has a lot on her plate, and is generally amazing.”

  There was a glint in Grammy’s eyes so I think I hit pay dirt. Maybe they wondered what Cassie was up to all this time and hearing it from somebody who saw her regularly in her other life was something they appreciated.

  “Your property is really nice,” I said, breathing in the warm and fresh breeze. It was definitely different than city air, which could smell like fuel, metal or smoke depending on the day.

  In the distance I spotted an extended structure along the west side of the property and wondered if another family might’ve lived there. “What is that cabin used for?”

  “Visitors. Every year the neighbors next door have an alligator harvesting program and we have open season for deer and quail, depending on the month,” Billie said, seeming to break it down in simple terms for me, as if I were naive or something. And possibly when it came to this topic, I was. Or maybe it was just how Billie communicated, guileless and to the point. “You have to have a valid license and folks reserve our cabin overnight.”

  “So groups stay out here to hunt on your land or the property next door?” I asked.

  “That’s right,” Grammy said. “Quail, deer, wild boar, gators, pheasant. The law in most states is very specific. You’re only allowed to tag a certain number of animals and then you’re done. It also keeps certain wildlife from overpopulating.”

  “Tag?” I asked and felt a chill up my spine when I noticed in my side view Callum’s presence behind the screen door listening to our conversation.

  “Hunt,” Billie said. “You can’t go crazy, you only have a certain number you can track and shoot for dead.”

  I had never really given hunting much thought, despite my vegetarian status. I realized now how shitty it was of me to assume I knew what the hell my principles were on this sort of thing.

  “The Lorrigan family lives next door. Jerry, his sister, and his mom and dad,” Cassie spoke up all of a sudden, trying to help me understand, and I was beginning to get a decent picture now. So if Cassie were to hook up with Jerry again, even marry him, the two families could maybe expand or merge their property. What a lot to hang on Cassie. No wonder she felt like escaping.

  “They have a gator preserve,” she said. “It gets crowded over there, especially during the months of August and September, so we offer accommodations to their guests when they need it.”

  “What about the rest of the year?” I asked, genuinely curious now.

  “Our cabin is pretty booked several weeks in advance for general hunting. But there are other expeditions the boys are involved in like shrimp and crawfish harvesting,” Grammy said.

  This was such a completely different way of life I couldn’t even wrap my brain around it. I grew things in a lab under artificial light and this family was living off the land.

  “You do all of that hunting too?” I asked Billie and his face fell. Right away I knew I had asked the
wrong thing and I wanted to kick myself. But a loud motor saved me because right then a couple of four-wheelers pulled up from a path behind the house.

  Cassie stood up with a huge smile on her face, waving. “Daddy.”

  Mr. Montgomery parked and climbed off the vehicle. He was a large man, much like Callum. The other guy, who must’ve been their brother, Braden, was leaner with light brown hair, but still, the family resemblance was unmistakable.

  Suddenly my hands felt clammy. If Callum didn’t like me, would the other men in the family follow suit? I might’ve just put my foot in my mouth with Billie as well.

  I stood waiting while Cassie hugged her father and brother. The screen door slapped open and I could feel Callum’s presence behind me. As well as his heat.

  “Relax, son,” Grammy said to me from the swing. “You’re wound tighter than a music box.”

  I heard Callum smirk and as he moved past, his shoulder rubbed against my arm and warmth crawled across my cheeks.

  “Everything look okay out there?” he asked his brother and father.

  “Fine,” Braden said and then his gaze swung over his shoulder. “Who’s this?”

  Callum looked back at me. “That’s—”

  Before he could get the words out Cassie cut him off. “He’s my date to the wedding and also a friend. Dean, meet my father and my brother, Braden.”

  Callum watched me as I stepped forward to shake his brother’s hand. When I turned to Mr. Montgomery, there was something unyielding in his gaze. Guess he really did want his daughter to end up with Jerry. Or he was as protective as Callum. I didn’t get that sense from Braden though, not yet. Damn, who knew this was going to be so awkward?

  “Your cousin arrives in a couple of days for wedding prep to begin,” Mr. Montgomery said to Cassie.

  “I’ll help anyway I can,” she said with a smile and her father threw a giant arm around her shoulder. I could see the affection for his daughter in his eyes.